Hosiery



Dec. 3, 1940.

R. E. DAVIS, JR

HOS IERY Filed Jan. 15, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY Dec. 3, 1940. R.E. DAVIS, JR 2,223,719

HOSIERY Filed Jan. 15, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 k BY \ SW W y ATTORNEY Dec.3, 1940. R E, DAVIS, R 2,223,719

HOSIERY Filed Jan. 15, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Z ai/ili iiiiig ifii 5 figQMQQQ- ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 3, 1940 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOSIERY Application January 15, 1938, Serial No. 185,122

2 Claims.

My invention consists in. the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate anembodiment of my invention and one method of producing the same,selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention isfully disclosed in the following description and claims.

In the manufacture of hosiery, and particularly mens half hose andanklets, it has been lo customary for many years to knit the top orupper portion of the leg by rib knitting on a rib knitting machine whichproduces a tubular fabric of much smaller diameter than a plain knitfabric containing the same number of stitches 15 or wales in eachcourse, the fabric being also more elastic than plain knit fabric, sothat while it may be stretched to permit the passage of the foottherethrough, it will contract by the inherent character of rib knittingto enable it to con- 20 form to the shape and size of the leg. Thesetops were subsequently transferred, in a wellknown way, to a plainknitting machine, and the leg of the stocking was knit by plain knittinginto the last course of the rib knit top. Obvi- 25 ously, thisnecessitated two sets of machines and a transfer step requiring skilledlabor. aware that it has been proposed to knit the top of a stocking byplain knitting with a single inelastic thread, or threads, knittingcontinuously 30 in every course and to incorporate in that portion ofthe plain knitting which conforms to the top of the stocking, an elasticthread of rubber or Lastex which is preferably connected to the fabricformed by the inelastic thread in the 35v process of knitting, at spacedwales in the elastic bearing courses, the elastic'thread being floatedon the inner face of the fabric, and fed under a sufiiciently hightension so that it will draw together the wales of the plain knit fabricand 40 produce an elastic section or top of reduced diameter as comparedwith the other portions of the leg. The points of the different coursesat which the elastic thread is united to the fabric are usuallyvertically aligned, thereby producing 45 throughout the rubberincorporated fabric, vertical rib-like ridges closely approximating theappearance of a rib top and producing the same form-fitting effect, withtheadditional supporting effect. This supporting effect is accomplished50 by portions of the elastic thread on the inner face of the fabricwhich form horizontally disposed beads, slightly indenting the skin ofthe wearer, and supporting the sock on the leg. To insure suificientseparation between the elastic bearing courses, the elastic thread iswithdrawn Iam at-the completion of knitting each elastic bearing courseand one or more courses are knit of inelastic thread only. This resultsin a series of longitudinally spaced elastic bearing courses connectedby floats of elastic thread extending longitudinally of the fabric fromone elastic bearing course to the next. To provide room for introducingthe cams for manipulating the needles to incorporate the elastic threadin the elastic bearing courses of the fabric, the space between the lastwale at which the elastic thread is caught in one of said courses andthe first wale at which it is caught inthe next, is greater than thespace between the wales at which the elastic thread is caughtthroughoutthe rest of the circumference of the fabric. This results inlong floats of elastic thread at the point where the elastic thread iscarried over between the elastic bearing courses. Upon completion of thetop portion of the sock, the leg is then knit on the same machine bysimply discontinuing the feed of the elastic thread, thus avoiding thepreviously necessary transfer step.

My invention is an improvement on the elastic incorporated fabric abovereferred to, whereby the long floats of elastic thread connectingsuccessive elastic bearing courses are avoided and both the top and legand foot of the sock can be knit more rapidly, thus increasing thecapacity of the knitting machine and cheapening the cost of manufacture.According to my invention, the top portion of the sock is knit by plainknitting, but with multiple feeds and multiple knitting cams, so that aplurality of courses are knit at every revolution of the machine, therebeing at least three such feeds and associated cams so that the threadforming each course is different from that of the two preceding and twosucceeding courses. In saying that the courses are formed of differentthreads, it is meant that the threads are separate and distinct from oneanother, although they may The of the same color and character. Inassociation with one of the multiple knitting threads, an elastic threadis fed to certain of the needles, preferably in plating relation withone of the multiple threads, so that it is incorporated inevery courseof knitting with that particular thread, thereby effectively spacing thecoursescontaining the elastic thread without the necessity ofintroducing the elastic thread in the desired courses and withdrawing itwhile knitting the courses within which it is not desired, as in thecase of knitting the top' with a single thread. The elastic thread isunited to the fabric at uniformly spaced wales separated by at least twointervening wales and is otherwise fioated on the inner surface of thefabric. The elastic thread thus forms on the inner surface of the top.portion of the sock an inwardly projecting body engaging bead extendingalong the inner face of thefabric in the form of a continuous, smoothand uniform-spiral, with at least two courses of inelastic threadbetween successive convolutions of the spiral. The elastic thread isincorporated under sufficient tension to contract the fabric intovertically extending ribs. When the knitting of the top is completed,the feed of the elastic thread is discontinued, and the knitting of theleg of the sock proceeds proferably with multiple feeds and multiplecams, either the same multiple used in the top, or a different multiple,as desired, and the foot portion between the heel and toe pockets ispreferably knit in the same manner, thus greatly expediting theproduction of the sock, increasing the output of the machine, andcheapening the cost of manufacture. The heel and toe pockets are knitwith a, single thread feed by reciprocating work and narrowing andwidening in the usual manner using one of the threads knit in the legand foot portions or a separate thread with or without a reinforcingthread -or threads. In some instances the leg and foot portions may alsobe knit with a single feed if desired, after knitting the'multiple feedtop as previously described.

My invention also contemplates certain other novel features hereinafter'fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an embodiment of myinvention in a sock and the process of knitting the same, selected by mefor purposes of illustration.

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of a completed sock embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic horizontal plan view of a circular series ofneedles of a knitting machine showing one arrangement of the main andauxiliary cams.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one arrangement for feedingseparate yarns for the simultaneous formation of multiple courses ofplain knitting in carrying my invention into effect, in which four yarnsare simultaneously fed.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing an arrangement for carryingout myinvention, in which two yarns are simultaneously fed.

Fig. 5 represents a layout of the needle cylinder and cam ring ofaknitting machine for carrying I out my invention, showing it arrangedto effect the simultaneous feeding of from two to four separate threads,or the feeding of a single thread as desired.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one'of the short nib needles provided with aselecting shoulder.

Fig. 6a represents a short nib needle without the selecting shoulder.

Fig. '7 represents one of the long nib needles, provided with aselecting shoulder.

Fig. 7a represents a long nib needle without the selecting shoulder.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a portion of the fabricshowing it as it would appear if it remained as knit.

Fig.9 is a similar view showing the fabric as it actually appears, dueto the tendency of the elastic thread under tension to straighten out inthe fabric.

My invention can be carried out, and my im-.

proved fabric or stocking made, either by hand or by means of a knittingmachine, and in the present instance I will describe my process ascarried out -on a well known Banner machine,

can be readily adapted for the purpose by the addition "\of certainadditional knitting dams, yarn feeds and .pattern controlling mechanismtherefor. The improvements in the knitting machine, however, form nopart of my present invention'and will form the subject matter of aseparate application.

In carrying out my invention by the aid of a knitting machine of thekind described, I employ, in addition to the main knitting cam two 1 ormore additional cams. In the present instance, as shown particularly in-Figs. 2 and 5, I have shown the machine provided with a main knittingcam, indicated at I, such as is usual in the Banner machine for example,and in ad- 2 dition thereto I have provided three auxiliary cams,indicated at 2, 3 and 4, arranged at convenient positions around theneedle circle, indicated diagrammatically at 5 in Fig. 2, for example,the machine being provided with the usual 2 thread guidesv at the throatof any desired number, two of such thread guides being indicated at 6and 1 respectively in Fig. 5, and'additional thread guides, indicatedjat8, 9 and I0 beingtprovided, one in advance of each of the auxiliary' 3cams 2, 3 and 4. 'The auxiliary cams 2, 3 and 4 are preferably arrangedin such manner that each one of them can be moved into and out ofoperative relation, which is conveniently accomplished by mounting themso that they may be 3 moved radially with respect to the cylinder, as

- indicated by the reversed arrows at 20, 3a and 4a in Fig. 2, all ofthe thread guidesbeing m0v-- able into and out of operative position.With this arrangement it is obvious that it would be 4 possible to feedone single thread, or more, such as to or three, according to theadjustment of the auxiliary cams and thread guides, thereby knittingeither a single course or multiple courses of two, three and four in asingle revolution of 4 the machine, as may be desired.

The elastic thread is preferably introduced in plating relation with oneof the multiple threads and is fed to the needles in such a manner thatit will be united to the fabric at certain wales only of the successivecourses continuously knitted by that thread. By reason of the multipleknitting, the elastic bearing courses will be separated by thecontinuous courses knit by the other body threads fed by the otherseparate thread guides. t

For convenience of description, let it be as-, sumed that a tubularplain knit fabric is to be formed by four feed knitting to constitutethe top or upper portion of the sock, or other form fitting garmentsection, in which case the arrangement would be as indicated in Fig. 5,and let it be further assumed that the elastic thread is to be fed inplating relation with the. body thread delivered by one of the threadguides of the throat, as the thread guide '|.for example, and is to beknit into the fabric at every fourth wale of the continuous coursesformed 'by that thread, which will obviously be separated from eachother by three intervening courses formed by the other body threads, theknitting machine will be provided as usual with short butt needles, oneof which is indicated at I l in Fig. 6a, and long butt needles, one ofwhich is indimanufactured by the Hemphill Company, which 5 cated at I!in Fig. 7a, the short butt needles is indicated at |2a Fig. '7, andwhich is provided with a similar shoulder l2b. In setting up themachine, every fourth needle of both short butt and long butt serieswill be of ordinary type without shoulder, while the three interveningneedles in both series between these plain needles will be provided withthe shoulder llb or l2b, as the case may be. The main knitting cam I isso arranged that it will engage the shoulders llb or 1212, and therebydraw down an the shouldered needles to a greater extent than the needlesII and 12, which are therefore I left in a higher position at thethroat. A main body thread, indicated at a, is fed by one of the throatfeed fingers, as I, at the proper height to deliver it to all of theneedles, while the elastic thread, indicated at e, will be fed byanother ofthe throat feed fingers, 6, for example, at a higher position,and therefore will be fed only to the raised needles H and' I2, or inother words,

1' every fourth needle in the arrangement assumed.

The auxiliary knitting cams 2, 3 and 4 are preferably so arranged thatwhen in their innermost or operative positions they will engage the nibsof the needles only, that is to say they will en'- gage the nibs of theplain needles and will engage the nibs of the shouldered needles forwardof the shoulder thereof, so that all of the needles will be drawn downto the same extent. A second body thread, indicated at b, will be fed bythe auxiliary feed finger 8 in advance of the auxiliary cam 2. A thirdbody thread, or inelastic thread, c, will be fed by the feed finger 9 inadvance of the auxiliary cam 3. A fourth body thread, d, is fed by thefeed finger ID in advance of the auxiliary cam 4. It will be understoodthat the body threads a, b, c and d are inelastic threads, and that theelastic thread e is of rubber or Lastex, or other suitable elasticmaterial.

As the cylinder rotates, it will now be understood that as the needlesengage the main knitting cam I, the shouldered needles will be drawndown to a lower level than the non-shouldered needles, which will beleft in position to receive the elastic thread 2, while all of theneedles including both the shouldered needles and the nonshoulderedneedles will take the body thread (1, commencing the knitting of acourse of stitches in which the elastic thread is fed in platingrelation with the body thread'a. and will be knit in every fourth walewith the body thread a. and floatedbetween said spaced wales on theinner face of the fabric. As these same needles arrive at the auxiliarycam 2, all the needles will same needles again to the main knitting camI, the elastic thread will be fed to the elevated non-shoulderedneedles, in plating relation with the thread a, and will then be knit mthe same manner into the stitches of the preceding course formed by thethread d, and the operation will be repeated.-

It will thus be seen that a plurality of courses of the fabric are knitat each revolution of the machine, and that as the elastic thread is fedalong with one of the multiple threads it will be continuously knit atspaced wales in every course formed by that thread throughout thefabric, so that the feed of each thread, including the elastic thread,is continuous throughout the formation of the fabric, for example,throughout the formation of the top of a stocking, and at no time duringthe knitting of this fabric is the feed of the elastic .thread or of anyof the body threads interrupted.

It will be understood that my invention is not limited to four feed.knitting and the fabric may be formed in the manner above described withthree threads, four threads, or more as desired, according to thedesired separation between the courses carrying the elastic thread. Iwish it also understood that Ldo not limit myself to any particularspacing of the wales in the courses carrying the elastic thread at whichit is united to the fabric, either by knitting in as above described, orin any other manner by which it is made to engage with the inelasticthread so as to holdjt in the fabric. For example, the shoulderedneedles and non-shouldered needles could be alternated throughout theneedle circle, and the shoulders and thread guide 6 arranged to 1 feedthe elastic thread below the latches of the I that as the knitted fabricleaves the needles it will be contracted by the tension of the elasticthread to a much smaller diameter than it would have without thepresence of the elastic thread, and as the elastic thread is united tothe fabric in one of the ways mentioned by the same needles throughoutthe several courses containing the elastic thread, the fabric will begathered into vertically disposed ribs or ridges resembling more or lessrib knitting, according to the spacing of the non-shouldered needles,thus constituting the fabric form fitting while at the same timeportions of the elastic thread on the inner surface of the fabric willconstitute an inwardly projecting spiral bead capable of slightlyindenting the skin of the wearer, with the convolutions of the spiralbead distributed over such a large area as to render the sockself-supporting with a relatively smallamount of pressure on the leg andwithout any inconvenience to the wearer.

As indicated in Fig. l for example, I have shown a stocking providedwith a top portion, [4, formed in the manner just described, the elasticthread in the continuous spaced courses containing the same, beingindicated at e. When the desired length of the top is attained, asindicated by the dotted line l-l5 it is only necessary to throw out ofoperation the feed fingerv 6 for the elastic thread, when the leg of thestockmay be the same thread used preferably by throwing in ing,indicated at Hi, can be knit integrally with the top by multipleknitting with the four feeds, as previously described. Obviously the legof the stocking could be knit with a lesser number of body threads bysimply withdrawing one or more of the auxiliary cams from operativeposition and throwing out of operation the feeding fingers cooperatingtherewith. In some instances it may be desirable, for example, to knitthe leg of the stocking with two body threads simultaneously, in whichcaseat the same time that the feed finger 6 is thrown out of operation,the feed fingers 8 and 9 and the auxiliary cams 2 and 3 can also bemoved to inoperative position, so that the leg of the stocking would insuch case be knit by the body threads a and d, fed to all of the needlesand knit in by the knitting cams I and 4.

The relation of the threads in the four course feed is diagrammaticallyillustrated in Fig. 3, the body threads and elastic thread beingindicated by the reference characters previously referred-to, and themultiple feed with two threads, and an incorporated elastic thread isindicated in Fig. 4. Obviously other arrangements of plurality knittingin combination'with the introduc-. tion of an elastic thread in one ofthe plurality courses can be made.

In carrying out the knitting of the entire sock, which can be done onthe same machine and as an integral fabric, when the leg has beencompleted down to a course just above the heel, indicated for example atl1, l8, the circular knitting stops and reciprocating knitting for theformation of the heel pocket begins. As only one feed fingerand oneknitting cam is used in knitting the heel pocket, the auxiliary cam orcams used in knitting the leg'l6 and also the auxiliary feed fingerstherefor are thrown out of action when the point just above the heel,indicated bythe dotted line l'll8 is reached and the knitting of theheel pocket proceeds with the main knitting cam l and with a non-elasticthread fed by one of the feed fingers at the throat. This thread in theleg or a heavier thread or threads as may be desired. Obviously thefirst course of the heel pocket will be knit into the stitches ofthe-immediately preceding course or courses if more than one course isheld upon the needles used in reciprocating work, as will ordinarily bethe case.

Insome instances I may, when reaching the point indicated by the linel1, l8, throw out of operation such of the auxiliary knitting cams andtheir feedfingers as may have been used in knitting the leg, and knitone or more complete circular courses with the knitting thread a,'bymeans of the main knitting cam I, and feed finger I, if this is founddesirable, but it is not necessary.

After the knitting of the heel pocket, which is indicated at IS, in theusual manner, circular knit-ting again commences from the line l1l 8, vone or more of the auxiliary cams and their feed fingers and knittingthe foot of the sock, indicated at 20, by multiple feed plain knittingwith either two, three or four threads, as desired.

' Immediately before the commencement of the knitting of the toe pocket,at a'point indicated by the dotted line 2|, 2| I prefer to throw out ofoperation the auxiliary cams and their feed fingers used in the knittingof the foot, and knit a few looping courses. indicated at 22, of plainknitting, using only the main knitting cam I and thread a, down to theposition occupied by the dotted line 22, 22, after which the toe pocket23 is knit in the usual-manner with a single thread by reciprocatingwork, as described .with reference to the heel pocket, and the stockingis completed by looping on the upper half of the meeting edges of thetoe pocket and foot portion, in

the usual manner, as indicated at 24. The toe 1 pocket also may be madeof the thread a, or of a heavier thread or threads, fed by another feedfinger at the throat, if that is desired.

The entire stocking is therefore knit as a unitary fabric including thefour feed plain knit top portion M with the incorporated elastic thread,in the manner previously described, which forms an elastic form fittingand self-supporting top for the stocking, and holds it in position onthe I leg when in use without the necessity for a garter. v

In Fig. 8 of the drawings I have shown dia grammatically and on anenlarged scale, the arrangement of the four courses of stitchessimultaneously formed in a single revolution of the machine with theelastic thread knit into-the fabric at spaced wales in the particularcourses formed by one thread only, the stitches contain ing the elasticthread being represented theoretically as they would be formed in thefabric.

Bearing in mind, however, that the elastic thread inner face of thefabric as indicated at e2, e2.

At the points e' the elastic thread will be frictlonally held in thefabric by frictional engagement with the portions of the inelasticthread of the same and adjacent courses which come in contact with itand hold it in the fabric at these points, it being understood thatwhile the elastic thread is firmly united with the fabric at the pointsindicated, it can slide longitudinally through the embracing portions ofthe inelastic thread or threads which'confine it so as to accommodateand distribute any stretching force which is applied to it at any pointaround the fabric, thus keeping the tension of each elastic threadsubstantially uniform throughout each convolution thereof.

In addition to the advantage of plurality course knitting in theformation of the stocking top and also in the leg and sole portionsthereof, which do not have the elastic thread ordinarily incorporatedtherein, although it could be introduced at any desired point in eitherthe leg or foot if desired, my invention is admirably adapted fortheformation of horizontal striping and 'othererating therewith willlikewise be thrown out of operation, under the control of suitablepattern mechanism, which will also control the pattern of the colorschemeto be carried out in knitting the fabric or stacking.

' neously and continuously knitted and the elastic thread isincorporated continuously in the spaced courses formed by one of saidthreads, as previou'sly described the feed of the elastic thread isdiscontinued and the leg portion of the sock and the foot portionbetween the heel and toe pockets may be knit with the singlethread,'which may be one of the threads previously used in knitting thetop or a separate thread fed to all of the needles by a feed finger atthe throat, the knitting being accomplished by the main knitting 0am I,and the auxiliary knitting cams being withdrawn together with their feedfingers from operative position. The first course of the leg will ineither case be knitted into the stitches of the last course or coursesof the termination of the top. I prefer, however, to knit the leg por-'tion and the foot portion between the heel and toe pockets'by multiplefeed plain knitting as previously described, using the main knitting camin conjunction with one of the throat feed fingers and one or more ofthe auxiliary knitting cams with the feed finger or fingers associatedtherewith. a

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an article of hosiery, a form-fitting and Y surface an inwardlyprojecting body engaging bead formed by an elastic thread extendingalong the inner surface of the fabric in the form of a continuous,smooth and uniform spiral, with at least two courses of inelastic threadonly between successive convolutions of the spiral, the elastic threadbeingunited to the fabric at uniformly spaced wales around thecircumference of the article, the wales at which the elastic is aplurality of courses of plain knit stitches, all

of the stitches of each of said courses being formed by aninelasticthread different from that of the stitches of the two preceding and twosucceeding courses, said top portion having on its inner surface aninwardly projecting body en- -around the circumference of the article,the wales at which the elastic is locked being separated by at least twointervening wales, and the elastic being incorporated under suflicienttension to contractthe fabric into vertically extending ribs. ROBERTEVAN DAVIS JR.

